When God became a Father

The baby in the manger uttered his first cry, and thereby his
Father staked a claim upon our lives. Thereby the Mighty God of all creation
became also "Abba" -- the tender Father of a little child; and OUR Father as
well!

The God whose son was born in that stable, amidst the simple
farm animals, ceased being (if He ever was!) a God of remote abstractions and
technical theories.

He is now, for us, a God who loves PEOPLE, a Father who is not
willing that any should perish, who holds back no blessing from His "children",
who searches out and loves even the least worthy and most neglected.

A tiny cry in a manger. It was truly a miracle. It was the
greatest of all miracles -- the birth of God's own son!

But isn't every birth a "miracle", and a mystery? Isn't every
child a "holy" child, because he or she receives life from the God who is holy?
Isn't every child a "gift" from God, showing His continuing love for man,
showing that even yet He has not "given up" on us?

And shouldn't every child be a special child -- like Samuel or
John or even Jesus -- who should be dedicated by righteous parents to the
service of God?

Like Mary and Joseph, many of us have been entrusted by God
with future kings and queens -- who will one day, by God's grace, sit upon
thrones and apply to the nations the lessons learned in their parents'
homes.

And, in fact, aren't we ALL -- from youngest to oldest --
children of God, begotten by His love... children who manifest our "sonship" by
our love for one another? If there is a lesson in the Christmas story, it is
this: the preeminence of love. We love him, because He first loved us. For,
after all, "sonship" is not what we do, but what we receive. Not what we earn,
but a gift. Thanks be to the Father in heaven, that through His special Son we
have received the gift of knowing what it means to be His children.